Eye Opener: Homeland Security has more contractors than feds

By
Ed O'Keefe

Happy Wednesday! Officials at the Department of Homeland Security have told lawmakers in recent weeks that it employs more private contractors than government employees, a revelation that shouldn't surprise close observers of the department's seven-year history.

The department estimates it employs 200,000 contractors and roughly 188,000 federal employees, a total that does not include uniformed members of the Coast Guard.

Sens. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Tuesday they want detailed workplace information from each of the department's more than 20 agencies.

"The sheer number of DHS contractors currently on board again raises the question of whether DHS itself is in charge of its programs and policies, or whether it inappropriately has ceded core decisions to contractors,” Lieberman and Collins wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

“We believe that the current balance between federal employees and contractors at DHS is unacceptable, untenable and unsustainable," the senators said.

Staffers on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee said they learned of the government worker-contract ratio during budget briefings earlier this month. Napolitano does not plan to address the balance during a budget hearing with the committee today unless she's asked, her aides said.

“Since first taking office, Secretary Napolitano has been strongly committed to decreasing the department’s reliance on contractors and strengthening the federal workforce at DHS," the department's (newly minted) press secretary Clark Stevens said in an e-mail. "Over the past year, we have been actively converting contractor positions to government positions and will continue to build on these efforts at an even more aggressive pace this year."

Stevens didn't say where those conversions are occurring, but the department anticipates making substantial contractor cuts by the end of this year.

The Bush administration relied on contractors to help stand up the department in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and while some security responsibilities -- like airport security -- were quickly federalized, other functions -- like federal building security -- remain largely in the hands of private security contractors.

Lieberman may express shock that the department uses so many contractors, but he's yet to deliver on a promised bill to address the reliance on contractors at the Federal Protective Service, which oversees security at federal facilities. The Office of Management and Budget has also promised guidance to federal agencies on "inherently governmental functions" that contractors should no longer perform -- but we're still waiting.

So while lawmakers may express shock and the department's defenders use its young history to validate the size of its contractor workforce, it seems a formal decision on the breadth and depth of federal contractors is long overdue. Need more reasons? Skim the stories below for just some of the latest examples of reported contractor abuse.

Is the wide use of contractors at Homeland Security a good thing or not?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section below

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Congress has only itself to blame. It encouraged "contracting out" ALL activities that were not "inherently governmental." Well, that's a lot of work, depending on how you parse the words. And it could all be fixed by adding these few words to every appropriation act. "No more than [fill in the blank] percent of the Department's full-time equivalent positions may be filled by non-Federal employees."

It would save a bundle, make Government more responsive, but unfortunately it would antagonize the government contractors who donate billions of dollars to congressional coffers. So instead we have this charade of "outrage."

no surpise here. wackenhut, haliburton, the then blackwater now remarketed do not make money from government employees or contribute on their behalf to presidential and other electoral campaigns. there is and was provision to hire government employees on a temporary basis but the only people making money from that are the employees.

so...if I want to become a federal employee I should first become a contractor with DHS and wait for DHS to convert that job into a federal position. This sounds easier than going through USAJOBS, which takes forever if you ever get the job. Also, are contractors going through the lengthy security check?

It's a waste of money. Contractors cost way more than a regular employee with benefits. That's why so many who leave federal service come back as contractors. On top of that many of these contractors are poorly choosen. I'm surprised that many at my agency even have jobs. Don't get me wrong, contractors have a place in government, but they should only be used when there is a skill that doesn't exist in the scope of current federal workers or if there is a time contraint. And while that contractor is doing what they do, the federal employees need to be brought up to speed so they can take over. Many agencies can be a bit antiquated, so you may need to go outside sometimes, but not all of the time since Federal Hiring practices should be based on real skill sets anyway. But this mess at DHS is the result of Bush trying to dissolve government and make way for kickbacks in the private sector. He essentially swept federal workers aside. Remember, he even stone walled the unions. And of course McCaine is going to drag his feet as a pro-Bush supporter-at least until his campaign run. And in regards to the expediency because of 9/11, last I read DHS still hasn't secured the boarders or made any super obvious security enhancements that actually work. So the sooner leverage and supplies are given back to federal employees, the better.

so...if I want to become a federal employee I should first become a contractor with DHS and wait for DHS to convert that job into a federal position. This sounds easier than going through USAJOBS, which takes forever if you ever get the job. Also, are contractors going through the lengthy security check?

Posted by: kartis31
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Yes and yes...DHS is continously trying to hire federal employees to fill the positions that are vacant in the agency, and they use the most streamlined methods available in government to accomplish this; but with the need as great as it is, contractor employees who are able to prove their skills through performance are often converted to federal employees at DHS. And yes, they are required to clear the same security clearance as does federal employees. If you are looking for employment with the federal government, it would do you well to apply for employment with a contractor who does business with DHS.